Risk only what you can afford to lose

[tranthidung]

[Guide] Secure air-gapped crypto wallet storage method

If you can not have an air-gap computer, you can use either cold storage or multisig wallet that will be more secured than a single signature hot wallet.

Creating a multisig wallet in Electrum
Creating a cold storage wallet in Electrum
Old phone as cold storage?

Nothing is 100% safe in life and practice so you must store your bitcoin on different devices, in multiple wallets. In case you lose one of your wallets or one of them is compromised, you will not lose all your bitcoins.

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[bitterguy28]

The only healthy solution is to understand that there is no guarantee in crypto, risk only what you can afford to lose, even after every thing, something can still always go wrong.

Indeed what we have to , because the risk is unstoppable in terms of online using at some time or another we  will taste this to learn and to lose.

this is the perfect solution actually and expect no Guarantee 100% , just do what you can to make it safe.

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

Stay safe out there kings and happy holiday 🎅

Never that I use QR code , instead I will choose sending directly to the addresses or manually typing and need to check multiple times at least I maintain my safeties .

[Alpha Marine]

The curious ones should just stop scanning all of the QR codes that they see. 

So it's not only me right? There are others that just like scanning QR codes just to see what's behind it. 
That has been one thing I liked doing in the past, don't know how I managed to stop doing it, but I still get attracted (maybe "fascinated" is the word) by QR codes.

I still prefer to send and receive Bitcoins through giving the address than giving and asking for an address QR code.

I was leaning towards scanning codes when I found out (thanks to this forum) that there are malicious software that can change the address you copied to send Bitcoin to and make it look very similar. Somehow I also found out about the risk of QR codes so I decided to stick to the address but take more time to verify the address.

[Solosanz]

1. download the app.
2. create the wallet.
3. save your wallet address.
4. save private key/seed. (on your dairy or print it.)
5. possible to convert QR on key/seed. (then print)
6. When you run out of needs. Then uninstall the wallet app.

Downloading the software from official site or google play etc aren't always 100% safe, you need to verify the signature.

When you want to print your private key/seed phrase, you need to know if printers might store your private key/seed phrase. Similar to converting your private key/seedphrase, you're need to use tools and they might compromise your wallet.

Uninstalling the wallet from your phone aren't necessary means your cell phone completely delete every data about the wallet.

[YUriy1991]

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

The advice not to scan QR codes found online is wise. I myself am also very careful in this regard because threats can come at any time from unknown QR codes. The best solution is that I only pay cash although other options are also available using the QR code payment menu.

[Best-mary]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

Correct. Finally someone is getting it. Nothing is 100% safe and we need to make our coins safe ourselves by getting the necessary information needed.

When I talked about the exchanges I use for trading and investing Bitget and Binance particularly what I checked are the Reserve ratio and protection fund to guarantee my fund safety

[Z390]

I am not scared of everything you write up about hardware wallet safety but there is one that I think is a big problem, that's software update, I wish hardware wallet don't need them, but I also believe that its one of the ways to make the wallet security gets stronger, after thinking about it all I still believe that paper wallet is the best, there is no wallet update needed and it's completely offline, in this case paper wallet beats hardware wallet.
But I still trust Air-gapped wallets because they don't need the internet to make a transaction, the only way hackers can get people is to have access to a software update and make people download and install on the hardware somehow, that will be hard to do but people are still stupid anyway, they can get confused on way or another.

Be careful of hardware wallet apps too, I believe that hackers can create a fake one and make it available on play store or other online app stores, you need the app from the official website, never download apps from any online app stores.

[Nheer]

The safest cryptocurrency wallet is an air-gapped hardware wallet, but its drawback is that it requires technical expertise to use, making it unsuitable for novices looking for a simple wallet that isn't too advanced for them.

Hardware wallets are protected from online attacks when they are not connected to an internet-connected computer, however even though they are the safest wallet, they can still be physically attacked. One way that hardware wallets can be compromised is if someone receives a phoney hardware wallet with flaws that allow hackers to access your wallet and private key.

1. Cord connection: data can still be transmitted when connecting the hardware wallet to your PC.

There are some measures to be taken to protect air gapped hardware wallet from attacks else it can get compromise. Air gapped Hardware wallets are designed for offline purposes and are not meant to be connected to an online computer. Connecting to an online computer/network is so risky that it is even advised to always use a phone USB charger to power it up and not use an online USB connection to power it up so it doesn’t get exposed.

4. You still have to rely on the company for future safetiness of the hardware wallet in terms of software updates, if someone hackers find a way to alter the upcoming update file you know what could happen.

This is a major concern as well since it is very possible to receive a fake hardware wallet or receive a wallet that contains malware from a wrong company Despite being the safest wallet option we still need to put into consideration some security measures so we don’t risk losing our assets or private keys.

Cryptocurrency in general is very risky because we make use of wallets that are being designed and developed by other people and the majority of us lack knowledge about programming and software development but we still trust and use wallets designed by others. There is no guarantee in crypto but it is always worth the risk.

[benalexis12]

When I started here in the Bitcoin industry, it wasn't really easy to learn, and I learned it honestly. That's why, no matter what cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, every investor should know what is called risk and what they can't afford to lose.

Because if they don't understand this, it's only guaranteed that the capital investment they will use in cryptocurrencies will be wasted when they make a mistake in choosing these assets that they think can provide income.

[yazher]

This is actually a good tip for those who want to hold their bitcoins for the long term because you cannot afford to lose it when the price is currently rising like what we are witnessing today. Other people fail to understand the importance of these instructions and often jeopardize their chance to safely secure their bitcoins. Along with buying some bitcoins, you also need such knowledge to prevent hackers from infiltrating your crypto wallet whichever it is and also it could be the way to preserve your bitcoins until the bull runs come in the future or even next year after the bitcoin halvings.

[Publictalk792]

There is nothing which is 100% safe. But you should add something more in you points which can make you more secure.

1. Cord connection: data can still be transmitted when connecting the hardware wallet to your PC.

When you connect the hardware wallet to your computer data can still send. That why it is important to make sure your computer is secure and doesn't have any viruses or malware.

2. SD Card: some comes with Sd card option for updating the hardware wallet, but I am not sure that using Sd card can always be safe either, I remember those days where I use to buy lots of Sd card because they have issues easily and also they get viruses easily. Old Symbian and Android users here?

Using an SD card to update your hardware wallet can be risky. It is important to be careful and only use a new SD card that you only use for updating your hardware wallet. Do not use it for anything else to reduce this will make you more secure.

3. QR Codes: honesty, QR codes are not readable by the eye, they comes with blocks like figures, there is no way to know what's written in that QR code anyway, there is no way to read it and know what kind of data is inside it.

QR codes can be hard to read and understand. It's important to aware when scanning QR codes especially one you find online. Only scan QR codes from those sources which you trust like when you are making a payment to another crypto wallet or selling your BTC on a  exchange.

4. You still have to rely on the company for future safetiness of the hardware wallet in terms of software updates, if someone hackers find a way to alter the upcoming update file you know what could happen.

Depending on the company for software updates mean you are rely on them. It is important to choose a hardware wallet provider that is trusted and regularly updates their software for security.

[Inwestour]

The advice not to scan QR codes found online is wise. I myself am also very careful in this regard because threats can come at any time from unknown QR codes. The best solution is that I only pay cash although other options are also available using the QR code payment menu.

You are on a forum about Bitcoin and you advise to pay only in cash, but what about Bitcoin?

In fact, there are a lot of tricks of scammers, that user falls for every day, so caution will definitely not be superfluous. If we decide to invest in Bitcoin, we must understand that the responsibility for its safety lies only with us, we are our own bank and if something happens to our coins, we cannot change anything, everything depends only on our knowledge and decisions.

[Casdinyard]

I don't get the appeal with Airgapped crypto wallets and it might just be because I don't really care for too much security and decentralization but at the same time, each and everyone of us here moves our money every once in a while, sometimes to a different network especially if a detrimental issue comes around. The problem with airgapped crypto is that, as soon as you give it a sliver of access to the internet it's already moot, and all that work you put in to secure your wallet will be put to waste.

I say secure your wallet as much as possible, and I'm not saying not to airgap your wallet, but at the same time if you are someone who moves their assets every now and again, I say you look into other options.

[Lorence.xD]

The advice not to scan QR codes found online is wise. I myself am also very careful in this regard because threats can come at any time from unknown QR codes. The best solution is that I only pay cash although other options are also available using the QR code payment menu.

You are on a forum about Bitcoin and you advise to pay only in cash, but what about Bitcoin?

In fact, there are a lot of tricks of scammers, that user falls for every day, so caution will definitely not be superfluous. If we decide to invest in Bitcoin, we must understand that the responsibility for its safety lies only with us, we are our own bank and if something happens to our coins, we cannot change anything, everything depends only on our knowledge and decisions.

Well, we can't blame people for having trust issues, especially in these kinds of stuff since you can even make your own QR code online, and then paste it as payment to scam people. Any kind of transactions that can be done online are most likely prone to scams and hacks as people are knowledgeable enough to code something that can access your private data as well as your funds. Sometimes your knowledge of this kind of thing is already behind to new kinds of techniques for scamming, just imagine the first person who got scammed with the use of a QR code, for sure they are not aware of that kind of modus, so from that experience he would prefer to use cash, if you let know people this story they would prefer to use cash. We would never know if one day someone could access your wallets and Bitcoin to whatever thing you have clicked online, so every action would literally need caution.

[Baki202]

This is actually a good tip for those who want to hold their bitcoins for the long term because you cannot afford to lose it when the price is currently rising like what we are witnessing today. Other people fail to understand the importance of these instructions and often jeopardize their chance to safely secure their bitcoins. Along with buying some bitcoins, you also need such knowledge to prevent hackers from infiltrating your crypto wallet whichever it is and also it could be the way to preserve your bitcoins until the bull runs come in the future or even next year after the bitcoin halvings.

Holders will take all reasonable guidelines to ensure the security of their wallet and their assets, and from the limited information I have seen, many people discuss how airgapped hardware wallets are not completely immune to hackers, that there will always be a connection, and that data transfers using cords or SD cards leave them vulnerable to connections. The adage "invest what you can afford" is also observed, as many people enter the cryptocurrency space without first learning how to safely store their assets or even purchase items they cannot can handle. When it comes to security.

Since the halving of Bitcoin is almost imminent, hackers and scammers will be pursuing this opportunity to steal from people. Therefore, be sure to properly save your seed phrase and secure any essential information before losing everything to the air. Some people will lose their assets as a result of their negligence.

[Frankolala]

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

The advice not to scan QR codes found online is wise. I myself am also very careful in this regard because threats can come at any time from unknown QR codes. The best solution is that I only pay cash although other options are also available using the QR code payment menu.

I don't think that anyone that understand security on his wallet, will use his wallet that has his bitcoin to play with by scanning any how QR code because the only time that a QR code is to be scanned is when you want to transfer your bitcoin to another wallet address, this is when you are to scan, so I don't see why someone will use his bitcoin wallet to start scanning anything online.

The hardware wallet is safe but the safety of your bitcoin lies in your hands, if you take precautions to keep your wallet safe, your hardware wallet will be safe but if you lose guard your hardware wallet, then you wallet will be compromise.

[Z_MBFM]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

Can you guarantee your life? So how can you guarantee cryptocurrency?  Business, job, other invest, crypto invest these are many risks nothing can be guaranteed. The safety of everything depends on how you keep them safe. So in every field where financial matters are involved, you should invest according to your ability so that you can keep yourself in control if you lose them. And later you have enough backup to invest elsewhere. And using them you can later recover your losses and manage your future with profits

[tabas]

The curious ones should just stop scanning all of the QR codes that they see. 

So it's not only me right? There are others that just like scanning QR codes just to see what's behind it. 
That has been one thing I liked doing in the past, don't know how I managed to stop doing it, but I still get attracted (maybe "fascinated" is the word) by QR codes.

Yup, I know people that have been telling that they like doing these especially those products that has them. While with such products it can be genuine and safe because they've got physical entities. But you'll never know here this curiosity or practice will bring you. Much better to just stop doing so since it's not mandatory at all.

I still prefer to send and receive Bitcoins through giving the address than giving and asking for an address QR code.

I was leaning towards scanning codes when I found out (thanks to this forum) that there are malicious software that can change the address you copied to send Bitcoin to and make it look very similar. Somehow I also found out about the risk of QR codes so I decided to stick to the address but take more time to verify the address.

IMO, if you're going to scan QRs and you want to send it to someone. The best thing to do this is to do it face to face, when you can actually see that the QR code generate came from the actual wallet of the receiver.

[btc78]

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

The advice not to scan QR codes found online is wise. I myself am also very careful in this regard because threats can come at any time from unknown QR codes. The best solution is that I only pay cash although other options are also available using the QR code payment menu.

due to the pandemic, we were all forced to sign in wherever we go as to make contact tracing easier i think this has made a lot of people more vulnerable putting out your contact information out there is a bait for scammers and hackers not only that but since then people in my country has been receiving so much spams

[KiaKia]

There is no guarantee on anything in this life, not even our lives are guaranteed, we can sleep and fail to wake up the next day, but I pray it will never be our potion.

This is why sometimes going extra miles to invest your money is not worth it, life do end when we don't expect it, and anything can also happen too, take risks when you can but don't go extra miles for anything.

To invest conveniently you need to start making good amount of money, this will make investment easier for you, still there is a risk of losing everything but it's better than not taking risks at all because no risk no reward.